Category Archives: Questions and Answers

Q: Hey Gina!! I wanted to know when you plan on releasing your next DVD?? Im playing yours in the store today & people are loving it. I know I would love to see you make another one. Maybe you & youre man could do a whole section on healthy living as a couple. Even behind the scenes at the local shows, pro shows & expos.

Hey Gina, I second this notion! I loved your first DVD and even though I’ve watched it several times already, I always pop it in because each time I watch it I learn something new I missed the first time! I think you should produce a new DVD catered for that first time competitor…like a figure 101 type of dvd. Well, maybe not so much a first time competitor, but it should be more educational on what every figure competitor should prepare for and expect to encounter should they commit to this journey. I’m sure thousands of females out there would be interested in it especially because there isn’t a good one out there! You could talk about everything from the breast implants debate, the costs of competing, the training required, the creative cooking recipes, the suit selection process, the need for constant, positive, motivation and support from a community like this, etc! You’d be the perfect person for this kind of dvd, girl. Please consider it!!!

A:

Great question!! Don’t think this isn’t a thought in our heads… my videographer is no longer doing DVD’s so I am looking for alternatives. IF anyone knows any, here in the so cal, SD area, let me know. Looking at options but definitely thinking about it!! I am so glad people have found my current DVD so helpful!

Healthy/Balanced living as a life and with a partner, is exactly up my alley. Make it real to everyone!! It would be more lifestyle and less competitive which is more of reality and life. Tons of real life situations, ideas to stay active and fit, yet enjoying each other and life and cooking creatively together… “FIT 50: TIME FOR A NEW WAY OF LIVING” MY BE BRINGING THAT TO THE PUBLIC! I will keep you posted but just know it is in the project plans!

I could also consider a DVD along the lines of figure 101 and the ins and outs of the process. Great idea and I will put that on the list as well as a potential opportunity! First have to find a videographer… Absolutely Great ideas with the educational side of it beyond the stage… Considering it deeply. thanks for your thoughts and input!

I thought I saw you post what protein you use, but can’t find it. I remember a Pro Dessert Pudding, but I looked it up and it’s an actual pudding mix. So, if i’m going to go out and buy protein, because I just don’t eat enough of it, what is a good protein per serving suggestion?
Plus, I have stocked up on the following supplements: Multi-Vit., extra iron, Omega Blend (3,6,9) & CLA. What am I missing? How I miss the days of ephedrine Ripped Fuel. Haha, good way to get up in the morning!

A:

Great question! Yes, I posted about the protein I use, a while back. I absolutely LOVE my Pro Desserts. It is a pudding packet but I typically use it as a protein shake so I will use the packet and blend it with ice and water for a nice thick shake. Now mind you they can start to add up because each box of about 15 packets is around $35-$40 and they can go quick. I try to use these as my treat for the evenings when I just want something on the sweeter side. The Pro Desserts can be made thick so they are like a dessert, Hence “Pro Dessert”. They are also great to keep in your car for emergencies. All you do is a dd a little bit of water and eat it as a pudding. Even at hone, I use them as a pudding, ever so often. You use about 4 oz of water and mix before putting in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The longer it sits, the better! Okay so that is my little treat. Mind you, some people have tried them and are not fond of the flavor!! Can’t figure that out but everyone has their own taste buds, that’s for sure. As far as another protein that isn’t in packets, I have always used Metabolic Drive Lo Carb from Biotest. The only problem with this is that you have to order it online from their website or bodybuilding.com. I have yet to find another protein I like as much, as far as nutrient breakdown and taste! I have also used Champion Whey, and in an emergency, I grab the EAS protein from Costco! It is a great deal 5lbs for $20, can’t beat that. But it is not the same as my Pro Desserts or Biotest’s.

As far as per serving, It really varies but here is a baseline…
1 scoop–
no more than 130 cal/scoop
no more than 3g of fat/scoop (MAX)
about 20-25 g Protein/scoop
no more than 3g sugar/scoop (MAX)
no more than 3g carbs/scoop (MAX)

Of course you adjust your serving accordingly so if you have a protein powder that has 18g of carbs/scoop and your goal is about 30g/meal, you use more than a scoop. It also depends on what your dietary allowance is, adjust accordingly!

-note, watch out for cholesterol, as some protein powders are HIGH in cholesterol!

As far as your supplements, You are off to a great start!! Multi’s and Omega 3-6-9’s are essential and I would also add the following:
-GLUTAMINE
-BCAA’S
-BE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH CALCIUM IN MULTI OTHERWISE ADD CALCIUM

I CAN GO ON WITH MORE BUT REALLY THAT IS A GOOD BASELINE… FAT BURNERS AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD BE USED ONLY IF NEEDED AND DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE.

Hi Gina! Like I mentioned before, my goal is to do my first figure competition in june of 2010. I have heard it can be expensive with the training, coaching, purchasing of suits, hair, make-up…etc. I have found trainers in Edmonton, Alberta and their cost is $750 for 16-20 weeks of training/coaching. The required 2 piece for this particular competition is to be plain black and the 1 piece is our choice. What other expenses can I expect and what would be a ball park cost for a first timers competition? Can you offer any other advice for a first timer?

Thank you!

A:

Great question and good to see that you are planning in advance for this investment. As we all know, this sport is not cheap! You are right, in that there are so many different factors and I am happy to see you looking into this far in advance and planning so you can make your prep that much easier. This is quite an investment but as I tell my clients, this is an investment in YOU and YOUR future because once you learn the tricks and trades you can carry them with you for the rest of your life. So over a 16 or so week period you may be spending a few $1000.00 but over your lifetime it is the best and cheapest investment you can make! Also remember when picking a coach, trainer, suit, make-up artist and in everything you do, You get what you Pay for!

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin to plan.
Training/coaching– VARIES AND DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT THE PLAN INCLUDES BUT CAN BE AS MUCH AS $2000/PREP
Posing and Presentation sessions–Varies
Supplements–MIN. $1000.00 (INC. PROTEIN POWDER, GLUTAMINE, VITAMINS, BCAA’S, ETC.)
Suits–RANGE $350-2500/SUIT (DEPENDS ON HOW BLINGY YOU GO…)
Hair & make-up–APPROX $300
Tanning–APPROX $150-$300
Accessories/jewelery–APPROX $100

You should expect to pay around $2000-5000 per show prep!! Of course this is a ball Park number and the high end is including all out Swarovski crystaled suits, how expensive the jewelery is, the hair and make up, brand of supplements, etc. This is really hard to give you an estimate as there are so many factors but at least you are considering ALL areas of competiton.

My advice to you is to make sure you have all your ducks in line before you commit to a show. Sounds like you are doing this now. Be sure your schedule (financial, social, family, work, etc) allows for you to dedicate your time to competing. Competing is far too expensive to not be able to give it your all. My other recommendation is to understand that this sport takes an extreme amount of time, dedication, money, social restrains, etc. that you want to be sure that if you commit you are committing yourself 100%. Do not skimp on things that you think aren’t necessary. Be sure that you understand the financial commitment and invest your money where you need to. My theory is that it is too expensive to not do things right. What I mean is pick and choose where you want to save money.

EXAMPLE: store brand supplements vs. most expensive supplements– Go for the Store Brand to save $$ BUT do on the other hand if you are choosing between tanning yourself and getting professionally tanned or doing your own make up vs. getting it done, be sure to invest in a professional and do it right. You need to eliminate any area where there is potential for mess ups. Imagine you spend all this money on all the areas I mentioned above and then you decide to save $100 and do your own make up and you completely mess up and look like a clown!! Your body is rocking but unfortunately you can’t see past that Clown make-up and you don’t even get looked at onstage because the judges can’t see past the horrible make-up job! Imagine all that money, time in the gym, long cardio sessions, countless days of tears and sweat in the gym, missing out on holidays and social events and then it is something as simple as your make-up that alters your chances at a fair look! Food for thought, be smart about where you try to save money. As you get closer and need further help, please be sure to ask! That is what I am here for!

You are so smart to be planning! Hope that helps and didn’t scare you away from competing but rather be honest and realistic!

The feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction you get and the investment you put into yourself, the things you will learn and the amount of joy you will get out of the journey is PRICELESS and totally worth it!

I am leaving for a vacation to Thailand and wanted to run something by you…. Since I will be in fairly remote areas of Thailand, I’ve looked into some local gyms and hopefully one will allow me to work out there. If not, I can take care of cardio by running outdoors twice a day, but about strength training, do you have any ideas what to do? I’ll do abs, and pushups, and wall squats, etc. But should I take a resistance band? Do you find those workouts helpful?

Also, when I am in the jungles doing my volunteer work I plan to carry my protein powder with me. Doubt I’ll have microwave access there! Will I fall too low in calories if say 3 of my 6 meals are JUST protein powder? Should I up the number of scoops to compensate? Or just add some almonds or something? Would you be able to give me a worst-case scenario diet plan I could try sticking to. I’m fine with just having protein powder in the day and then eating better meals in the morning and night when I”m back at my hotel. Thank you so much!

A:

Glad you are being proactive and checking things out. You are right on, if you do not have access to a gym than I want you to do your outdoor runs/fast walks and as far as strength training, perfect. Do your abs, push ups, wall squats and also bring a resistance band to do other exercises that would replace dumbbells. Resistance bands are great. You can do bicep curls, triceps extensions, side laterals, front raises, etc. You can do just about everything. They are such a great alternative to dumbbells, when you are in a crunch. Perfect for traveling!

As far as your meal plan, in worse case senario situations, yes have your protein powder as your protein source. Have 1.5 scoops per meal. Where you have carbs have 2 rice cakes and of course if you can get your hands on veggies that would be great. You can also stop by the nutrition store of Vitamin shoppe to get Meal replacement packs. These have more carbs than your protein powder therefore are used as Meal Replacements. You can use these where your meal plan has carbs. in replace of the oats and protein powder.

Of course when you are at your hotel and have access to real food, always go for the real food over shakes/liquids. You may even be able to make some protein pancakes or muffins, some with carbs and some without. You can freeze them and bring them with you… Glad you are planning ahead!

Q:
I’ve read this before about combining fat with carbs and I’m just curious what the reason is behind this.

*Meal composition– low-fat, high-carb meals are most effective at raising both insulin and leptin. You don’t want to combine a lot of fat with your carbs!

A:

Great question and there is lots of research on this. The basic idea is that you don’t want fat floating around the body when you have a high carbohydrate meal. Since a high carb meal will spike insulin, the insulin will then drive the fat into fat stores and you can then potentially drive the fat into the stores and stored as body fat. Fat, since it causes little, if any insulin spike, is diet friendly since without the insulin spike it’s very hard to store fat. The amount and potential to store fat depends on how much fat depends on how saturated your glycogen stores already are. There are so many variables depending on your diet, what you ate that day, the day before, exercise etc. Keep in mind, if you are following a specific program and have your calories in check, then the fat and carbohydrates together are going to be mot as detrimental and can are less likely to cause the storage of body fat but do you want to take that risk. I would rather stay on the safer side, myself so I always try to think about my food combinations. Remember not to be afraid of fat as you do need your healthy fats for the hormonal benefits and to keep things in balance but just be smart about when and how much you take in.

Everyone is different so people are able to play with nutrient combinations so I would keep a journal and see how things go for you!

Well, my hopes of working out have been sidelined for a week now! I took a second job at Macy’s for the holidays (Yeah Discounts!!) and i’ve just been so tired after working 40 hours at my regular job and then there right after.
I know tired is no excuse, but I feel my best around noon-ish. I figure I go home for lunch (about less than a mile from my work) and have an hour. Any recommendations on what I can fit in that time period for a work out, and if I should eat before or after?
By the way…my kitchen and pantry is getting tossed out tonight and refreshed according to your answer to my question about what to stock last week! I’m going to take a picture of me now (yikes!) and in 4 months take another to see the difference! I’m highly competitive and I have a feeling this will make me get the kick in the butt I need!

A:

Great question and I can help. First of all, I understand with the holidays you have to do what you have to do to make things work, that is life… but we can still make things work. Why don’t you get up and do 25 minutes of cardio on an empty stomach, before breakfast and heading off to work (do this 5-6x/week). On your lunch hour, before you eat lunch, perform a mini circuit training workout where you do one exercise/bodypart

do the exercises for both upper body and lower body for 25-30 minutes
do 3 sets of 15 reps with 30 seconds of rest between exercises.. repeat until you reach your time.
Eat, quick shower, and then head back to work…

For your cardio, you can also incorporate running or walking to and from work on the days you don’t do a.m. cardio… just a thought. I know you don’t have too much time but you can see what you do have time for and make that work. Just giving you options.

As far as what to eat… I would have a shake or egg whites and oats with a piece of fruit after and maybe around 11:30, before you get off have a protein shake with a rice cake

I am so glad to hear that your pantry is getting a make over and I can’t wait to hear how things go and all about your progress! Taking photos is very smart and a great way to measure your progress and success! Keep us all posted with how things go! You go girl!

Great question… First of all, as far as coffee goes, I use stevia in my coffee. I don’t use dairy too often, unless I have non fat cottage cheese, here and there. A few times a week I may go out to get an Americano (water with espresso) but for the most part, believe it or not, I use instant coffee with just splenda.

As far as what my off season day looks like, below is a perfect example of a typical day!

Meal 1: wake up and immediately make a protein shake (1.5 scoops) with 1/2 c. oatmeal with 1 tbsp flaxseed

Q:
OK, I know Olive Oil is a healthy fat – but is it smart to cook with it when you’re trying to lose weight? And, if so, how much? How many times per day? And, should I stay away from cooking with it at night?

A:
Yes, Olive oil is a healthy fat (monounsaturated fat)! It has several health benefits and is a great addition to a salad and or in other forms of cooking. I would suggest you use the olive oil spray to avoid over doing it with the oil itself. It is too easy to over pour and not only that, there is no use to use the actual oil when they have the spray cans out! I use tons of PAM, Canola Spray or Olive Oil Spray but mostly I stick with PAM. I use tons of my non stick sprays, even pre contest and have never worried about them. Yes, I am sure they do add up, if you use massive amounts or spray for seconds on end but it isn’t going to kill you, if you use the spray. You definitely want to avoid butters and I would stay away from sunflower, corn, and safflower oil.

I use my oil sprays throughout the day as non sticking agents but also spray them on my veggies to allow them to get more crisp when I cook them. I use them morning through night. At night I also add in my flaxseed or oil to my protein shake to ensure a longer lasting digestion throughout the night. This is on top of my cooking with oil sprays.

—If you cook with very very little olive oil, you will be fine but just to be safe, I would suggest getting the Olive Oil Spray because it all adds up. Keep the actual oil for your salads

I know most people suggest to take a daily multivitamin. When I do this I really don’t feel good. I’m thirsty all the time and my energy doesn’t seem to change and I just don’t feel any better. I think I’ve tried 5 different brands at this point.

Now daily I take fish oil (1 tsp), 2 Vitamin D (400iu), 3 Calcium w/ Magnesium (each 1000 mg calcium & 400 mg magnesium). That’s all and I feel good. Do you think that’s okay for me or do you think I really need a multivitamin?

Thanks!

A: I take a woman’s daily multi vitamin OR I also take a serving of ALIVE, liquid vitamins. Really any good multi will work and it is, like with anything, trial and error and what works best for you. The importance of the multi is to get in all the necessary nutrients you may not be getting from your foods, sunlight, etc. Especially with our diets being a bit stricter than the average persons diet, it is important to supplement with a multi vitamin.

Most of us don’t get (RDA) of vitamins and minerals necessary from our foods, even if we are consuming the suggested daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This is also due to the fact that farming practices, mass food production, processing, and cooking, has made our foods less nutrient dense than they were in previous years so multi’s have become even more essential.

We are pretty good with our veggies but I know many of us watch our dairy and fruit intake. I am glad to see you are taking your calcium!!! That is the first thing I look at. You have a very great stack but I would suggest continuing to play around with multi’s to find one that works for your body. Try ALIVE:

Q: If I wanted to throw away everything in my kitchen and start anew, what would be your list for re-stocking my kitchen/pantry for a healthy lifestyle? I’m looking more so for the basics to always have and cook with…

A: Great question!!! That is a great idea to start fresh and re-stock. I will give you some of my staples:

DISCLAIMER: The material on this website is provided for educational uses only, and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Use & Conditions | Privacy Policy.